Unmasking the Syriacs - A Book that Deserves Serious Attention!
'Unmasking the Syriacs - The Hidden Origin of Indian Christianity' authored by historian Jeevan Philip is a book that deserves serious attention from historians, researchers, clergy, and faithful who are interested in the origin and development of Christianity in India. The book sheds light in detail on Malankara Nasranis, who are otherwise called St Thomas Christians or Syrian Christians, and their socio-anthropological origin and development. Nevertheless, the author argues against the traditional understanding that Church was established by St Thomas in South India. His arguments remain compelling indeed. The thesis discusses the crucial history behind the so-called St. Thomas cross or Persian crosses found across various churches in Kerala and elsewhere thereby exposing the origin of the Malankara Church, the indigenous cultural institution of Malankara Nasranis who are one of the oldest followers of Jesus of Nazareth. Usually, Church historians associate these crosses with the East Syriac Church traditions in Malankara (Malainattukara, present-day Kerala). They believe that the Malankara Church (the indigenous Church of India) right from the beginning was under the administration of the East Syriac Church or the Church of the East, also known as the Nestorian Church. This Church is also wrongly called the Persian Church as well.
The chapter dedicated to the study of the cross deserves special mention. It is rich with critical analysis of the origin of the cross, crucifixion, historical evolution of Christian crosses, and related aspects. Readers may find it astonishing to understand the evolution of the crosses over centuries as the author invites them for a detailed reading of crosses ranging from pre-Christian times to the present day. However, Jeevan Philip through various analyses, in-depth study, cross-comparisons, and logical deductions states that St. Thomas or Persian crosses are not Syriac crosses rather they are Manichean in origin. The author has taken great pain in reading and decoding various inscriptions, particularly the Pahlavi crosses. The author has provided a considerable number of references from various scholarly papers and has put forward never before seen evidence to support his argument. These references may appear uneasy for the commoner to understand. Nevertheless, they are considered vital evidence in exploring the forgotten past of Indian Christianity. This will indeed help the readers to overcome the traditional understating of the so-called Persian crosses. The readings are not limited to crosses and their inscriptions, but to several other historical inscriptions that remain vital in proving the authors' arguments.
The Manichean connection of South Indian Christianity seems to be one aspect that remains absent in history writing. It remains unsure if such a connection is purposefully ignored to cater to the 'apostolic' lineage of present-day Christian communities. Whereas Jeevan Philip discusses the details of the Manichaean religion, its origin, development, and its propagation in South India, especially in Mylapore, and its connection to Christians in the South. The author also discusses the historical details of the arrival of Portuguese Catholics, their attempts to colonize the indigenous Malankara Church, and related aspects. There are also certain interesting mentions of the Portuguese delegation about their encounter with the local population, customs, and cultural practices in Malankara.
Jeevan Philip might be one of the first historians in India to mention the importance of socio-economic networks and the crucial role they played in the spread of religion, especially the spread of the religion of Jesus of Nazareth to South India. An intriguing part of the book is the refutations put forward by the author against the claims of Knanaya Syrian Christians. The author also exposes several stories propagated by Church historians to favor the history respective Churches they belong to. I leave them to the readers to explore the details.
The book may not appeal to every reader as the seriousness of the subject deserves basic knowledge in the area and utmost attention. It may not be easy for readers to break the stereotyped understanding of Church history that has been wired in them by Church historians, preachers, and theologians. On the other hand, critical readers will find this book highly appealing and a worthy effort. Moreover, the book will compel its readers to raise critical questions on Christian history propagated by mainstream and apostolic Churches. Hence, this book heavily challenges the Orthodox Catholic understating of Church history in India and paves way for an alternative approach to the subject.
The author, through his thesis, has successfully ventured into breaking the stereotype approach and understanding the history of Christianity in the Indian Subcontinent. Through his book, Jeevan Philip makes it clear that Malankara Nasranis are not Christians, rather they originated and developed as a caste-based cultural community as a result of the spread of Jesus' religion through the historic socio-economic networks. The author also showcases a crucial aspect of Indian Christian history writing - how over the centuries clergy, theologians and church historians have manipulated the identity of Malankara Nasranis to fit into the 'Syrian Christian identity' apostolic lineage by disregarding actual historical facts and evidence.
Blind adherents of the Christian faith will typically find it difficult to digest the content of this book. For that, the credit goes to the author for bringing out the real history behind the origin of Christianity in India and congratulating him for categorically stating that history and faith are two totally different aspects. Above all, I whole-heartedly appreciate the author for one aspect i.e., through his thesis and by consolidating proper evidence, he boldly states that Malankara Nasranis are not Syrian Christians and that Malankara Church is not a by-product of Syriac Christianity. Malankara Nasranis are a pre-proto-orthodox cultural community that is one of the earliest followers of Yeshua (Jesus of Nazareth), according to him. While other Church historians still stick on to Syriac stories and Syriac history, unlike them, Jeevan Philip is one of the few historians who have taken a bold and clear stand on the identity of Malankara Nasranis. One of the tedious tasks for the author will be taking his thesis and its content to the broader public and to persuade a discussion on the same in various circles which will be herculean indeed. A publication in the regional language (Malayalam) on the same subject may be helpful for the same.
On the whole, Unmasking the Syriacs may not be an easy read, but a serious read indeed.
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